Lizzi Goergl dominated the first run of the World Cup Giant Slalom and held a lead of almost six tenths over the rest of the field. Yet the HEAD Rebel admitted after the second run that had seen her drop to second that she was not relaxed enough for the second run and was not able to better the formidable run that Viktoria Rebensburg put down to grab the win by a third of a second.

Goergl was at first annoyed that she had not won her third Giant Slalom yet after analysing her run and the performances of others was happy with second behind Rebensburg and ahead of Julia Mancuso.

While Goergl felt that she had not caught the line to the best of her ability on some of the gates, the disappointment of not winning soon faded and the infectious smile was soon there again. She admitted before leaving for Lake Louise that her imperious lead from the first run had not affected her mentally.

It was a solid day for the HEAD Rebels in Aspen as 22 year old Anna Fenninger also produced another fantastic performance. When she came down after her second run, Fenninger posted what was the fastest combined time to that point. Having safely negotiated the shadows that were appearing down the course, Fenninger had to wait and see how good her time would be. The fact that she was even at the start was remarkable as she had been suffering from stomach pains after the first run. Fenninger held on to take fourth overall. After having placed sixth in Soelden, Fenninger bettered this and was quick to point out that her “skis were working really well and this enabled me to attack,” she explained.

For the winner in Soelden, Lindsey Vonn there was to be no double victory. Her first run was not up to her high standards and her second “felt better, I was definitely more aggressive, felt more like myself but it was just tough with the terrain and flat light, I just kept making mistakes but I did what I could and tried to make up some time. I think I did better but just not quite enough; first run was too far off.”

With two races in the Giant Slalom season now completed, Goergl, Vonn and Fenninger sit in places two, three and four in the Overall and Giant Slalom classification. Next up is the Slalom in Aspen.